Trump Congratulates Barletta on PA Primary Win: 'He Will Be a Great Senator'

May 16, 2018

“Lou is a friend of mine and a special guy.”
Mark Makela/Getty ImagesPresident Donald Trump took to Twitter Wednesday morning and congratulated Rep. Lou Barletta (R-Pa.), a longtime Trump supporter, on winning his Senate Republican primary in Pennsylvania on Tuesday.“Congratulations to Lou Barletta of Pennsylvania. He will be a great Senator and will represent his people well – like they haven’t been represented in many years,” Trump wrote.The president called Barletta a friend of his and a “special guy,” adding that “he will very much help MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”Congratulations to Lou Barletta of Pennsylvania. He will be a great Senator and will represent his people well – like they haven’t been represented in many years. Lou is a friend of mine and a special guy, he will very much help MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 16,2018 Barletta, who currently represents Pennsylvania’s 11th Congressional district, defeated Rep. Jim Christiana (R-Pa.) on Tuesday night by over 25 percentage points to clinch the Republican nomination.The GOP nominee is now set to take on incumbent Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) in the fall midterm election. Casey, however, maintains a lead in both polling and fundraising.A Muhlenberg College poll showed Casey with a 16-percentage-point lead over Barletta, however, the poll was of course taken before the Republican nomination was settled.Barletta will continue to have the president’s support moving into the general election, but even that backing has produced mixed results.However, on Tuesday night another of the president’s candidates took home a victory in the Nebraska Republican primary, as incumbent candidate Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) defeated four other GOP challengers.Other major primary victories on Tuesday include sweeping wins for progressive candidates. Kara Eastman, who is a president of a local nonprofit and supports Medicare-for-all, defeated former U. S. Rep. Brad Ashford who had out-fundraised her and had the support of national Democrats.The Idaho Governor Democratic Primary also saw the progressive candidate win out, with state Rep. Paulette Jordan taking the nomination 59 percent to 40 percent, over a more moderate opponent in A. J. Balukoff.William is a Senior Congressional and Breaking News Reporter for IJR. Prior to that, he covered politics and breaking news at AOL.com, leading the sit… more